A protest organised by the Women’s Rights Foundations against domestic violence took place this evening, with 150 people, mostly women, in attendance.
The protest was organised in response to the horrific murder of Eleanor Mangion Walker roughly ten days ago. The protest called for the government to transpose the Istanbul Convention, which provides for legislative clauses to prevent domestic violence, into Maltese law. Politicians in attendance were PN Leader Simon Busuttil, and Nationalist Party MPs Kristy Debono, Claudette Buttigieg, and Clyde Puli.
The Maltese government is signatory to the Istanbul Convention (2011), and it was ratified in 2014, however to date the necessary legislative changes as laid out by the Convention have not been made.
The Women’s Rights Foundation, led by lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic said that "following the death of Eleanor Mangion Walker, domestic violence is a reality. Women are falling victim to this, and so it is time to act. We decided to stop talking about it and do something. We came here as one voice to pass on the message that domestic violence is not acceptable, and we also wanted to give a voice to the ones who feel they do not have a voice to speak up. Given that Malta has ratified the Istanbul Convention, it needs to be implemented at the earliest so that there will be the mechanisms in place to prevent violence and help women to feel safer.”
She also made reference to issues such as protection orders, which the Istanbul Convention deals with.
Asked if she is aware of why there have been government delays in transposing the Convention into Maltese law, Dr Dimitrijevic said that “at present there are inter-ministerial meetings. The issue is due to be taken to Parliament. In light of the tragic death we urge the government to act at the earliest.”
The protest, entitled ‘One too many,’ referring to the high number of deaths and victims of abuse, called on women to wear orange and/or purple, signifying violence against women and domestic violence awareness, respectively.
Protestors were also urged to lay down red shoes, which is a symbol for the plight of women’s rights and a reminder of femicide.
Placards could be seen with messages such as ‘Machismo Kills,’ ‘Implement Istanbul Convention Now’ and ‘Stop Victim Blaming.’
Alex Dimitrijevic, Head of ‘Men Against Violence’ NGO said that “the message is very simple, this is obviously about things that men do to women, so men are the problem. If men are the problem then they are part of the solution, so we need more men to speak out about the issue.
“Initially there was a lot of enthusiasm when we formed the group, however like with all things work needs to be continued to maintain momentum,” he concluded.
Speaking with citizens who attended the protest, one particular lawyer-to-be, Kirk Brincau said that “I feel that violence impacts everyone, however it impacts women disproportionately. I feel that the whole population should speak up about the issue in order to bring it to an end.”
Asked about men’s role in the issue, he said that “many men are defensive about coming out about the issue. As you can see from the protest, the vast majority are women.”
In comments to this newsroom, PN MP Kristy Debono said: “I came to the protest to support this issue. We need to promote more awareness against any type of domestic violence or abuse. The issue is still at large and therefore there are changes in mentality we so desperately need. “
Making reference to the rates of domestic abuse in Malta, she said that “the statistics show how in Malta, one in every four women is suffering from some sort of domestic, physical or emotional violence. The rates are very high, 25 per cent; therefore we need to exert much more pressure on the authorities to implement the Istanbul Convention.”
The protest began outside Parliament building, where Dr Dimitrijevic said:
"I cannot mention all the women who died at the hands of the aggressor. I cannot name all the women who have been raped. I cannot mention all the women suffering in silence at the hands of their husbands or partners. I cannot mention all the women who had their children taken away from them by the father of their child.
“I cannot mention all the women who on a daily basis are being verbally abused and made to feel worthless…. They are too many. But together we can rise for them and bring a voice where there is none. All are too many.”
“People in the 21st century are still in denial about the prevalence of domestic abuse,” she added. Following a walk down republic street, she then called out the names of all those females who fell vitctim to domestic abuse over the past decade.